Problem in passing urine after undergoing 35 cycles of radiation in pelvis area.

[SADHAK]

I had TURP in Oct 2016 & as bleeding was not coming under control had radiation.

Now I have problem in passing urine.

Is this expected after radiation?

Will it improve with time.

Can someone share his experience on this ?

[AlanMeyer]

I had HDR brachytherapy radiation treatment for my prostate cancer. After the last treatment urination was almost impossible for me. The doc offered to put in a catheter but I was able to live without it by using prescription Flomax (tamulosin).

The problem is caused by radiation induced inflammation of the prostate. The urethra, the tube through which urine flows, passes through the prostate but, because the prostate is swollen, it can't get through, or can only get through when the pressure becomes very great. Then a small amount will get through before it closes off again.

The problem was severe for about 6 or 7 weeks, during which I had to urinate about once per hour because I could never get very much out. Then it gradually got better. I went from taking two Flomax per day to one, then to one every other day. By about five or six months I was back to normal.

Flomax was the solution for me until the problem cleared up. Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen might also help.

Good luck with it.

Alan

[SADHAK in reply to AlanMeyer]

Thank u very much.

[patandemma]

patandemma@SADHAK

everybody will have some degree of radiation cystitis (actually inflammation of prostate,bladder,urethra).

Rarely some,like me,wind .up with tremendous pain(steady state pain plus disabling spasms),frequency (at least once per hour),incontinence,bleeding.

When double dose Flomax and anticholinergics failed to help, I showed my urologist the literature (easily obtained on Google) about the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. He referred me to the local center and I began treatment-30 sessions 2 atmospheres.

Within 7 treatments,no visible blood in urine,frequency down to every 4 hours, pain persiste d but no longer spasms so severe I could not move.

Currently on treatment # 25,sleep through the night,,no incontinence,mild pain with urination

The natural history of severe untreated radiation cystitis is apparently a veyr prolonged course of symptoms before resolution BUT may result in severe scarring leading to a contracted bladder and urethral stricture.

SEE A UROLOGIST.

[SADHAK in reply to patandemma]

Thanks

[Wayne-P]

There's a drug that you can take that makes your urine bright orange. It took care of my bleeding pretty quickly. I can't remember the name. You can't take it if you wear contacts. It will stain them.

[Booklover7 in reply to Wayne-P]

Pyridium

[SADHAK in reply to Wayne-P]

Thanks

[bldn10]

Out of curiosity, radiation is a treatment for post-TURP bleeding?

[Hidden in reply to bldn10]

That sounds odd to me too. My TURP went fine with no complications. Wouldn't the laser alternative to conventional TURP have been better to cauterize and seal off bleeders than radiation? Just a layman speculating here. Laser for BPH is usually reserved for people on blood thinners so it is much less likely to cause a bleeding problem. Maybe the wrong BPH treatment used, but that is easy to say in hindsight. I am hoping the voiding problem improves with time.

[SADHAK in reply to Hidden]

Let us hope so

[SADHAK in reply to bldn10]

It helped me.

My bleeding stopped.

It also helped in controlling the disease.

[Hidden]

That sucks, real bad, SADHAK.

In Oct/16, I had a UroClip procedure done. I had the catheter removed in mid Nov. I can pee like in the old days.

I think radiation was not the right call. After having invasive surgery to remove prostate tissue, bleeding is normal. And, to control bleeding, I think radiation would do more harm than good. I had radiation six years ago. Over time this caused my prostate to choke off the urethra. It wasn't big on the outside, but grew on the inside, is a way of looking at it. TURP would be the logical next step, but I came across this procedure which is non-intrusive.

I hope they can fix what was done to you. Joe

[SADHAK in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[Hidden]

Radiation's desired/good and side/bad effects continue to change for both better and worse for months to years after the radiation is over. If your radiation oncologist didn't explain all this and/or is not very actively helping you through all this, it's time to find a better doctor. Many oncologists simply do their thing and move on to their next cancer patient, deliberately dumping their patients onto their family doctors. I consulted with one surgeon whose entire practice was dealing with the medical aftermath of oncologists (I won't scare you by specifying which flavor of oncologist he's talking about.) Published research into what our oncologists tell us before treatment and do for us after treatment reveals what many people would regard as complete negligence, sheer incompetence, or even much worse. To sum up 300 published reports into one sentence, "Most oncologists are too hung up in microbiology to see the patient clearly."

Three highly regarded rad oncs at one clinic told me my odds of cure with salvage radiation at their state-of-the-art facility were 75%, my odds of significant side effects about 4%. Those are outright lies. The actual estimates, from literally hundreds of peer-reviewed sources, from the very studies they cited, from their own professor and mentor at a national cancer research center, from the Mayo Clinic's top radiologist, and from the very CT scans they had performed, were 0.00% and virtually 100% for cure and devastating side effects, respectively, IN MY CASE. I learned from them and another dozen oncologists before and after them to research and question EVERY LAST DAMNED STATEMENT my doctors make for omission, commission, mistakes, and outright BS. (I'll spare you dozens of examples.)

Read. Read more. KEEP reading. But be careful what you read. Of the dozens of prostate cancer books I've studied by very widely known oncologists, some of the best are by Walsh, Scardino, Strum, Lange, and especially Chodak. PubMed, of course, is 20-some million easily searchable peer-reviewed studies, but estimates of their validity/accuracy/integrity run well below 50%, so they are guides, not gospel.

[SADHAK in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[Foghorn3952]

I had 30 EBRT in spring of 2002 for stage 3c PCa they could not get to during the radical prostatectomy I had in November 2001. January 2003 I had to have a TURP to remove a section with a scar tissue urethra blockage. I've been on a succession of anti-androgen hormone blockers ever since. Did Lupron every 3 months, then switched to Zoladex every 6 months, then to Eligard every 4 months, then Trelstar every 3 months, now back on Lupron every 3 months. This is augmented with daily Casodex since I began Trelstar. I do not have much pain from cancer, but it has caused a cascade of other problems beginning weight gain that lead to Type 2 diadetes, sleep apnea, CAD, peripheral neuropathy, and the beginning of connective tissue degeneration. I was declared disabled (SSDI) in 2011. I still get up every morning. I am very active in my church. I volunteer tutor k-5th grade kids from a local very rough housing project and spend a lot of time with my grandson. I can't stress the importance of staying active enough. Giving back to your community goes a long way towards keeping you spirits and self esteem up.

[SADHAK in reply to Foghorn3952]

Thanks